Snowy Cabin
by Ninjago Nuisance
Summary: Bruise shipping. Cole/Jay. Show canon. Set immediately following the snippet we got from the teaser for season 8. Basically Cole and Jay right after they're chased out of the monastery. It's going to be at least a two-shot...possible three. Depends on how it goes. Hope you enjoy! (Might mature in the near future if anything more happens...)
1. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

* * *

"So," Jay spoke, looking over at Cole, "that could have gone better."

The ebony haired boy sighed. "Yeah," His reply was curt. Jay could tell he wasn't in the mood for banter.

"Look, uh, we're going to find Master Wu," He tried, offering a winning smile despite his face being hidden beneath his shroud. Cole simply nodded as he kept his dark eyes trained forward on the snowy path ahead. Jay's shoulders visibly slumped. "Y'know," The Master of Lightning hummed, "this walk will be a lot longer if you spend it ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you." Cole was quick to refute. Jay was wholly unconvinced.

"Seems like it." The brunette insisted under his breath. Cole sighed again, this time more noticeably.

"Jay, _please_ ," He said evenly. There was something about the tone of his voice that clearly told the brunette that this wasn't the time nor place for his usual antics. Jay dropped it, becoming uncharacteristically quiet. This both relieved and unnerved Cole. He wasn't used to silence around the smaller teen.

They continued to walk in silence, trudging through the thick blanket of freshly fallen snow beneath their feet, with their faces to the wind. They kept their hoods up to protect their visages from the bite of the frigid air, but Jay could still feel it, seeping through his garb to nip at his skin.

Cole, on the other hand, seemed entirely unaffected by the cold. As the wind picked up he didn't so much as flinch, despite his sleeveless gi leaving his arms exposed to the intense cold. Jay couldn't understand how his companion seemed so...unbothered by the weather.

"I can see the cabin," The dark-haired ninja said suddenly.

"Great, it's freezing out here!" Jay shouted back over the howling winds, his arms crossing over his chest, and his hands rubbing them for some much-needed friction induced warmth. It took them only a minute or two before they were at the rickety wooden structure. It was a humble little shack at the base of the mountain, a single room encased by four log walls and lidded with a shingled roof. The pair had been informed by a local in passing that it was used by travelers making their way between the village and the shrine at the mountain's peak. It wasn't anywhere near a five-star hotel, but it suited their needs.

It took a bit of tugging to pull the door open, and it creaked loudly as it was pried from the frame, struggling hard against the billowing winds. Cole held the door ajar, allowing Jay to step through before following the blue ninja in. The pair kicked and wiped snow off, shaking themselves clean, feeling only slightly less cold inside the barely insulated cabin.

"We should start a fire," Jay said as he moved across the rickety floor towards an old stone fireplace. "It's freezing in here, seriously, I'm pretty sure I've got some nasty frostbite." The blue ninja knelt down and grabbed an old iron brush, using it to sweep out the ashes that had been left in the pit. "Can you bring some logs over here?" He asked without looking up.

Cole nodded and walked to the far end of the cabin where a stack of chopped logs was piled neatly against the wall. The Master of Earth grabbed a sizable armful and walked back to his companion, kneeling down and offering the wood out to the shorter male.

Jay turned, smiling appreciatively, taking two logs and tossing them haphazardly into the firepit. He repeated this twice more until he was satisfied with the amount of wood, using his now free hands to tug his hood down and free his face. "Ah," He breathed happily, now out of the confines of worn fabric. "That's better."

His shimmering blue eyes turned and met deep chocolate brown. "Take your hood off, ya goof," Jay teased, extending his arm to grab hold of Cole's hood, tugging it down to reveal his face. "There, that's better." The blue ninja grinned widely, stealing a glance to admire Cole's chiseled features and shaggy black hair. It was in that moment he realized how long Cole's hair had gotten in the past year.

"Hood's down now," Cole said, blinking, "we should start the fire, right?" The muscular teen swiveled slightly and dropped the remaining armload of wood down beside the fireplace. Jay nodded absently, moving a hand up to tease a few strands of curls in his own hair. He'd allowed it to grow out too, no longer slicked and styled, it was now shaggy and somewhat unkempt.

Cole cast a side glance and noticed Jay playing with his hair. He smirked. "Hey," He reached out and laid a large hand on Jay's head, tussling the smaller teen's messy hair. "You're getting shaggy, huh? You and me both." Jay ducked a bit under the weight of Cole's hand, his cheeks warming, growing pink under the dusting of freckles that adorned his cheekbones.

The black ninja brought his free hand up to tease his own locks, eyes up and narrowed on his bangs. "Hmm..." Jay turned his head slightly, still held down a bit under Cole's hand, and smiled sheepishly.

"I think the long hair looks good on you," He said confidently. Cole looked over at him and smirked.

"Yeah? Guess I won't get it cut then."

"Look at you, having bright ideas." The blue ninja teased, snickering at his own joke. Cole's brows furrowed, but then he laughed.

"I'm full of good ideas." He insisted. Jay snorted out another laugh. "I am!" Cole continued.

"Well, you did stick with me this past year," Jay reasoned, "I suppose that does mean you're capable of good ideas."

"Definitely a good choice," Cole moved his hand from Jay's head to wrap an arm around the blue Ninja's shoulders, tugging him over and into a side hug. The force of the pull made Jay lose his footing and he stumbled out of his knelt position into Cole's side with a soft ' _oof_ '.

"Yeah, yeah," Jay flushed so much that the blush crept down his pale neck. "You big _doof_..." The lightning teen tried to steady himself, placing his open palm against Cole's broad chest, feeling the tone beneath the fabric of his friend's gi.

"I know I've been hard on you, Jay," Cole said suddenly, his tone carrying the slightest hint of guilt. "I'm just...really worried. Worried about Master Wu...about Ninjago...about _our little family_." Jay paused and listened as the Earth Master spoke, knowing that Cole wasn't the type to pour his feelings out. "I don't mean to take it out on you..." Jay tightened his grip on his friend's ebony gi.

"It's okay, Cole," Jay said softly, leaning more comfortably into the other ninja. "I don't always make it easy." He laughed dryly. "I probably shouldn't have screamed so much...we really pissed those monks off."

It was Cole's turn to laugh. "I probably shouldn't have argued with you." Jay shrugged a bit.

"I've been told I can be annoying at times."

" _At times_?" Cole parroted, his inflection conveying the humour in the statement.

Jay responded with a swift elbow to Cole's gut, making the taller teen grunt out a breath of air before laughing heartily.

"Let me be modest without the sass," Jay quipped, huffing as he crossed his arms, leaning his full weight into Cole without concerns he might fall. "Ya jerk."

Cole continued to chuckle. "Sorry, sorry," He pulled Jay closer with the arm around the smaller ninja, squeezing his friend close. "Y'know I love you." Jay felt his cheeks grow hotter and he ducked his face into the collar of his gi.

"Yeah," Jay breathed softly and reluctantly pushed himself off Cole, reaching around to slip his hand into a back pocket, tugging out a small fire kit. "I'll get the fire going." Cole looked down at him and nodded a bit.

"Sure, bro," The ebony haired ninja stood and brushed his pants off, walking across the room to where they'd left their travel bags. Jay stared down at his task, pulling out a sleeve of matches and a few tinder sticks.

It took a minute or two of struggling and cursing under his breath for Jay to get the fire going. Once it was ablaze the little cabin was lit up in hues of oranges and yellows and slowly grew warm enough for them to no longer see their breath. Jay sat back on his haunches, crouched in front of the fire, packing up his kit as Cole walked over.

"Here," The ebony haired teen said as he laid a blanket down behind Jay, "sit...don't want to exhaust your legs."

"Isn't that your blanket?" Jay asked, a brow raised. "I don't want to dirty it..."

"It's fine," Cole said, a second blanket tucked under his muscular arm, presumably Jay's. "We're off this mountain tomorrow, I can wash it then." Jay relented and sat on the blanket, stretching out his legs in front of him, his feet a foot from the fire. He rubbed his hands along his legs and groaned softly.

"Climbing a mountain isn't fun," He hissed softly as his legs relaxed painfully. "I'm sore." Cole laughed as he sat beside Jay, unfurling the blanket and tossing it around them.

"Yeah, well, we can relax when we find Wu," The black ninja said solemnly.

"Hmm," Jay replied softly, his eyes on the flickering fire, which combined with Cole, was the only source of heat in the otherwise rickety cabin. They sat in silence, side by side, occasionally stealing glances. It wasn't awkward, though, as they'd grown accustomed to spending moments of comfortable silence together.

The fire flickered and popped, the only other sounds being their combined breathing and the whistling of the winter winds outside the cabin. Jay leaned a bit into Cole, knowing the closeness wouldn't bother his stoic friend, and he could feel Cole leaning back into him.

"You cold?" Cole asked softly.

"Hmm, not really," Jay lied. He was a little cold, but he didn't want to ruin the moment, and he knew it wouldn't get any better until they were entirely off the mountain. Cole seemed to know despite the casual fib, wrapping an arm around Jay's shoulders and pulling the blue ninja up close. Jay blushed lightly, casting a sidelong glance to the taller teen, noticing the subtle pinkening on his own cheeks. Both reasoned that the other was blushing because of the cold.

"Sorry the whole temple thing didn't work out." The Master of Earth murmured tiredly.

"Hardly your fault," Jay was quick to reassure. "We've been following leads for a year...we're honour bound to find our master at any costs." The brunette chuckled. "Or something like that. You're doing your best, Cole, don't be so hard on yourself."

"Yeah," Cole breathed softly, resting his cheek against Jay's curls.

The Master of Lightning brought his hands together and wrung them out nervously. Cole took notice and bumped his side into the blue ninja's. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"No." Jay lied again.

"C'mon, man," Cole smiled lopsidedly, "I've known you long enough to tell when you're lying. You're terrible at it."

Jay rolled his eyes. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Try me." Cole challenged.

* * *

A/N: Definitely going to be a two-shot. _Might_ even be a three-shot if I feel so inclined. See you whenever it is I post the next part! (Definitely before the release of season 8 in January...I think.)


	2. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

* * *

 **A/N:** Well here goes Chapter II. I believe season 8 will air on the 20th? Hopefully, anyway! I wanted to get this fic finished before the release of SoG. If you guys want a third chapter to this, let me know! I may do it if there's a demand for it. 

* * *

Jay looked away shamefully. Cole cocked his head to the side slightly.

"You're being uncharacteristically quiet, motormouth," Cole teased with a smile, bumping his friend again, Jay simply shrank under the black ninja's gaze. The ebony haired teen arched a brow. "Uh, Jay?"

"Sorry," Jay muttered softly, his hands still wringing nervously, and his freckled cheeks growing hot with a deep blush. "I just...don't know if I should tell you."

Cole frowned. "We're best friends, Jay, we don't keep secrets." The muscular teen's arm tugged his smaller friend in closer. "Remember how I told you that time I split my pants?"

Jay snorted softly. "Y'mean when you were doing that rehearsal with your dad?" Cole nodded.

"Yeah, and there was like thirty people in the audience, all staring at the stage when it happened," The Master of Earth slapped his forehead with his free hand and stifled a laugh, still slightly embarrassed by the memory of the event. "They could see my shorts through the hole...I told my dad the pants were _too tight_."

The Master of Lightning laughed. "If you weren't so ridiculously huge maybe clothes would actually fit."

Cole cast a sidelong glance at the brunette and then quickly extended and curled his arm, flexing boastfully. "Wouldn't it be weird for the Master of Earth to be puny like _you_?" He grinned at Jay.

Jay turned his head to face his friend, smirking. "Lightning is fast and agile," He rebutted, "earth is slow and cumbersome."

"Powerful and unstoppable," Cole argued.

"That'd be lightning." Jay puffed his chest. Cole laughed and shook his head.

"You're one of a kind, Jay Walker," The black ninja said matter-of-factly. Jay smiled sheepishly and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand.

"Thanks." Blue said quietly to black. There was another brief moment of silence. "I'm going to guess that was in hopes of prompting me to talk?" Jay ventured.

"It was my intention, yes," Cole replied. Jay breathed out audibly.

"I'm worried it might...ruin things."

"What? You got some deep dark secret, Jay?" Cole asked, wearing an amused grin.

"Not in so many words." Jay murmured.

"Unless you killed someone, or ate my cake, then there's really nothing you could say that would upset me. And, if I'm honest, I'd likely be able to get over you bumping someone off." Jay tried his hardest not to start to tear up. _Cole was too nice and too supportive_ , and it was eating away at him. "The cake thing, though, that would be such a deep level of betrayal and—"

 _Sniff, sniff_.

Cole paused and looked down to see Jay furiously wiping at his eyes and his heart sank in his chest. Sometimes he said things without really thinking, and now he was worried he'd said something wrong. "Uh, Jay," Cole said softly as he pulled the blue ninja up close again, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to upset you. If you don't want to tell me, that's cool."

"No, Cole, it's not—" Jay hiccuped a bit.

"Jay, dude, it's okay." Cole insisted. Jay groaned and turned his now slightly reddened eyes to meet a confused pair of dark brown orbs.

"Cole, just relax, I'm sorry I'm...just overwhelmed, I don't know." The blue ninja turned his head away and looked at the fireplace. "I don't know what's going on...I don't feel sad or anything." Cole relaxed a bit and nodded.

"We've...been through a lot..." Jay nodded in agreement.

"But...you've stuck through it all with me." Cole lifted his head a bit and blinked at the smaller teen.

"Yeah, of course," He smiled, "You're my best friend." Jay sighed deeply.

"I know, and you're mine." He said evenly. Cole frowned a bit.

"You could try sounding a little more convincing." The ebony haired teen teased good-naturedly. Jay smiled slightly.

"Sorry, it's just...," He looks down at his hands. "I think I might... _uh..._ like someone." Cole blinked at him, bewildered.

"Uh, yeah, you like Nya." Jay chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Yeah, kind of," He breathed a bit, "Nya's great...and I'd do anything for her..."

"But?" Cole prompted.

Jay looked down at the ground in front of them. "But...I think I might like _someone else_." Cole paused for a moment and then rubbed his friend's shoulder, his arm still around the Master of Lightning.

"That's cool," He said easily, "you like who you like, right?" Jay nervously looked over at Cole and sighed.

"You're a dope." Lightning said to Earth. Cole frowned.

"I was being nice," He defended, "why am I a dope?" Jay just stared at him, shimmering blue eyes narrowed dangerously on deep brown. Cole almost flinched back at the intensity of the stare, but then he paused and processed.

"Wait," He murmured, looking away and then back to Jay, "do you...uh, the person you like, are they a guy?"

Jay just nodded his head.

Cole paused and then quickly blushed. He had no idea Jay was interested in _guys_.

The pause made Jay falter in his confident stare and he quickly turned his head and pointed his gaze to the lightly flickering fire pit. Cole took a moment to try and unscramble his whirling thoughts. He had never even considered that Jay could potentially like a guy. That certainly was unexpected information. Not that it bothered him, on the contrary, for some reason it made his heart swell and the warmth from his chest creep up his neck and onto his cheeks, making him feel red hot.

"Woah, hey!" Jay shouted suddenly as he pressed hard into Cole's side, his eyes narrowing on the hand that had been resting casually on his shoulder. "Orange hands, Cole, pay attention!"

Cole was snapped out of his thoughts and he quickly withdrew his arm from around Jay and tucked his hands under his armpits. "Ah, sorry Jay! They don't, uh, usually do that..." He mumbled awkwardly.

"I thought you had them under control?" Blue asked black. Cole nodded a bit.

"I do, mostly," He said, "sometimes they sort of light up on their own..."

"Sure," Jay relaxed visibly and alternated his gaze between where Cole had tucked his still faintly glowing hands, to Cole's worried face. "Sorry for freaking out there..."

"It's okay." Cole said softly. "I, uh...," The black-haired ninja trailed for a second, trying to regain his composure. "can I ask you a question?"

Jay eyed him warily. "Yeah?"

Cole breathed. "Do you...like one of the crew?" Jay flushed.

"Uh...yeah." Cole nodded quickly.

"Cool, yeah." Jay fidgeted beside his friend.

" _Ugh_ , see, this is why I shouldn't have said anything. It's..." He wrapped his arms around himself and quieted a bit. "...awkward now." Cole breathed softly and calmed himself, the bright orange glow of his hands slowly diminishing until it faded completely.

"It's not awkward, Jay."

"Yes, it is..." Blue insisted.

"Can I ask you another question?" Jay didn't say anything, but he nodded. "Do you...like Kai?" Jay shook his head. "...Zane?" Jay's arms squeezed tighter around himself as he shook his head again. Cole swallowed. "Lloyd?" Jay shook his head, knowing with that answer, Cole would be able to figure it out. "Oh." Cole untucked a hand and brought it up to scratch absently at his rosied cheek.

"I'm...sorry." Jay felt like he was apologizing a lot today.

"Don't...don't say that. You're saying it like you've done something wrong." Cole turned to look at Jay. "You haven't."

Jay sniffled again and kept his eyes trained on the fire, not wanting to look at Cole.

"Jay, c'mon, look at me?" The blue ninja shook his head. Cole sighed and reached out, catching Jay's chin between his finger and thumb, forcibly turning the Master of Lightning's eyes to meet his own. In an act of defiance, Jay squeezed his eyes tightly shut, steadfastly refusing to look at the Master of Earth.

Cole rolled his eyes and leaned in, tilting his head slightly and pressing his lips to Jay's. Instantly Jay's eyes flew open and his entire body crackled with small and bright blue streams of electricity. Inwardly, Cole was surprised he wasn't getting shocked, although that thought didn't last long as he felt himself melting into the kiss.

When they broke apart, Jay just sat quietly, stunned to silence. Cole looked at his friend worriedly. "Jay?"

"...You kissed me...?" Jay murmured in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah," Cole rubbed the back of his neck, "I just...I think I like you too, Jay, and I hate seeing you all upset— **AAH**!" The Master of Earth fell back with a thud, rubbing his upper arm. "Jay! That hurt! You shocked me!"

"I know!" Jay shouted. "You **JERK** , that was our first kiss! You didn't even warn me!" Cole opened his mouth to argue, but his words caught in his throat, and his eyes widened.

" _First_ kiss...? We can, uh," He slowly sat upright and looked at Jay, "kiss...again?" Jay's anger faltered and he instead chewed his lower lip, blushed a deep crimson, and nodded his head. Cole smiled widely but Jay was quick to jab a finger at him.

"But I get to initiate the next kiss!" Cole raised his hands defensively and nodded.

"Sure, yeah, whatever you say." Jay eyed him, but scooted closer, reaching out to tentatively brush the tips of his fingers along the side of Cole's neck. It was amusing to the blue ninja to see how much that subtle touch made his friend shudder. The black ninja's entire body shivered and he stiffened a bit, sitting straight and upright.

"Take it easy, _boulder brain_ ," Jay whispered through an amused smirk, his fingers moving up to delicately brush Cole's sharp jawline with feathery light touches. "You're supposed to be tough." Cole scoffed and tried to hide his rather obvious embarrassment. Jay knew all too well when the Master of Earth was flustered.

Jay's palm soon came to rest against Cole's cheek, his thumb brushing over the swell of it. With a deep breath, Jay leaned in and pressed his lips to Cole's, the feeling once again garnering several blue sparks to jump from the blue ninja's body. " _Mmm_..." The brunette moaned softly despite himself.

Cole, unable to remain still, brought a hand up to Jay's curls. He tangled his fingers in the brunette's locks and tugged him closer, desperate to deepen their kiss. Both ninja pressed in harder, wanting more, feeling as though the tension and awkwardness between them was melting away.

Jay's arms wound their way around Cole's neck and blue met black as their torsos touched, which coaxed the Master of Earth to wrap his free arm around Jay's waist, resulting in his falling back with Jay on top of him. The new position didn't break their passionate lip lock, but instead it seemed to make it easier, with both tilting their heads as they adjusted to the feeling.

It was Jay that broke the kiss, pulling back to breathe, with his cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink. "W-Woah..."

"Yeah..." Cole said, panting softly with his own cheeks red.

"I..., oh!" Jay looked down and realized their positions, quickly jumping back and landing hard on his backside. "Ow..." Cole was quick to sit up, confused.

"What was that?"

"I didn't mean to knock you over!" Jay shouted, feeling silly. Cole blinked, then snorted and laughed. His laughter was infectious and it wasn't long before Jay, too, was laughing to the point of his sides hurting. It took a few minutes for them to calm down, but when the laughter had died down into soft breathing, the two ninja just stared at one another, neither sure what to do.

So, Cole spoke. "Jay, c'mere?" He opened his arms. Without hesitation, the blue ninja moved back into the warm embrace of his friend, pressing into him happily. "Thank you..." Cole said as he wrapped his powerful arms around his smaller companion.

"I guess we need to actually figure this out..." Jay said softly, winding his arms around Cole's waist. Cole nodded.

"Yeah." Both sat in silence again, which the black ninja found more than a little amusing. "Y'know, it's weird how many times today you've been quiet."

"Shut up," Jay said quickly.

"Jay?" Cole said.

"Yeah?" The blue ninja pressed his cheek against Cole's chest.

"Be my boyfriend?"

"Maybe." Jay teased. Cole smiled and placed a tussled Jay's messy curls.

"Well maybe I should—" A loud ringing sounded and both boys nearly jumped out of their skin. Cole scrambled for their travel bags and pulled out a small device, reading the screen.

"What's up?" Jay said, still clutching his chest from the surprise.

"P.i.x.a.l's calling us back," Cole turned to face Jay. "Lloyd needs us."


End file.
